How to have a Successful Garage Sale in Western New York

Spring has sprung in Western New York!    If you are thinking of putting your home on the market, you might want to have a garage sale.  I am always talking about getting rid of the clutter in your home and organize your stuff before you put your home up for sale.  This is important because potential buyers many times cannot see beyond what is in the house and see it as their home.  Many times they get involved in your collection of things, your family photos or that there is just too much stuff in the home making it feel a lot smaller than it really is.  So you want to overcome the objections that buyers may have, it is better to remove them before you place your home for sale.

Read Also: Help get your home sold faster…

Once you start the process of gathering up the things that you do not need, what do you do with this stuff?  You could call 1-800-GOT-JUNK and have them take it away.  You could drop off unused clothing at a local drop box.  But before you do that how about making a little fast cash with a Yard or Garage Sale?  It is summer in Western New York and it seems that every Friday, Saturday and Sunday there are hundreds of them throughout the area.

Read Also: My Buffalo home is about to expire!

Garage Sale Basics

You don’t have to be a Yard Sale Queen to have a successful Garage Sale in Western New York.  And you don’t have to wait for National Garage Sale Day on August ^8thto start thinking about having a Garage Sale.  There are a few things that you do in preparing for a Garage Sale that will make your life a lot easier.

Read Also: How to have a Successful Yard Sale

• Double check to make sure you do not need a permit to have one
• See if your community has a group sale coming up – there is strength in numbers or see if some of your neighbors are going to have one and gather together on the advertising.
• Decide on a date and advertise it in the local newspapers and perhaps even on the web at one of the many free Yard Sale Advertising sites
• Make sure you mark everything you want to sell. My mother uses color coded system to help make it easier when she does a yard sale. Red is hers, Yellow mine, green my brother, and blue my Aunt. That way we keep track of who receives what proceeds from the sale.
• What information to put in your advertisement? Address, dates and hours and any unique items that you may have for sale. You can advertise your sale on www.GarageSaleHunter.com for FREE!
• Have everything staged the night before, if you advertise the start of your sale at 8am, be prepared for early birds at 7am!
• Have lots of change on hand, $100 in tens, fives and singles is a good starting place. And all your loose change.
• Supplies that you will need include newspaper to wrap glassware and lots of plastic bags for those that purchase. Also have a few boxes available for big purchases.
• Use ziplock bags to combine several small items for a $1.   You will be amazed at how many people will purchase that kind of stuff.   Group like items together
• Post on Facebook like we did — all the photos of stuff you are getting rid of.   We did it and posted them on my page. There were many people coming asking for items that they wanted!
• Signage is important! Put up signs two or three days before your sale. Make sure that they have the dates, times and address. After your sale, make sure you pick up your signs.
• Tables — you can never have enough of them — remember the first thing in merchandising — make it easy to see!
• Don’t forget to put up flyers in local stores and bulletin boards.
• Think safety. Have a friend or family member with you. There is safety in numbers.
• Have a plan for when things don’t sell. Either have a place pickup the items that do not sell or plan on delivering them to a local charity.

Read Also: The Garage Sale Handbook

For more information call Colleen Kulikowski

(716) 650-0051

 

Thinking of selling your Western New York home? Interested in finding out the current market value of your single family home, condo or investment property? Then call www.BestBuffaloHomes.com at (716) 650-0051 to discuss what is happening in today’s Western New York Real Estate Market. We would be happy to give you a personalized Comparative Market Analysis for your home or assist you to purchase a home. View additional WNY Market Area Statistics here.

Thinking of selling your Clarence home? Interested in finding out the current market value of your single family home, condo or investment property? Then call www.BestBuffaloHomes.com at (716) 650-0051 to discuss what is happening in today’s Western New York Real Estate Market. We would be happy to give you a personalized Comparative Market Analysis for your home or assist you to purchase a home. View additional WNY Market Area Statistics here.

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